


A Veteran of the Rhye Rebellion

by TeaRoses



Category: Seven Seas of Rhye (Song)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2013-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-05 10:54:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1093036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeaRoses/pseuds/TeaRoses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of the Titan's soldiers tells her tale.  Don't believe everything in the history books.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Veteran of the Rhye Rebellion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Malkontent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malkontent/gifts).



> Many thanks to my beta, who improved this story immensely. Any mistakes are my own.

Of course I saw the Titan, in the old days, though I was just a common soldier. I'm here to tell you that the stories you've heard aren't true. He was an ordinary man, not even very tall. Titan was just a title that amused him. And he wasn't so terrible a king. Sometimes the wrong people went to jail, and some of the senators were corrupt, but that happens everywhere. The Challenger has corrupt advisors too, and he's also just an ordinary man. I don't even think there's much difference between the two of them.

Most people's lives roll on just as they always did. Mine would have too, if I hadn't become a soldier. When I was a girl I thought I would inherit my mother's farm when the time came. Chickens and wheat weren't exciting, but they were something I knew. I would have been happy with an uneventful life, but that's not how it turned out.

Of course when I was very young I didn't know yet how well I could Sing. I could crack a nut open with my voice, but almost anyone can do that. And I could make a wind blow the grasses, but that isn't particularly useful unless you're helping to bundle hay. As I grew older, though, I realized I had a talent. One day they asked me to help get rid of an old barn, and I did it with just my own voice. A few of the Titan's senators heard about that so of course there was no choice for me but the army.

I was sent to the Royal City, where the Titan's palace was. They did it because they thought I had so much potential, though it didn't make any difference to me where I was sent. The city had a high wall around it, and the soldiers would Sing to keep the wall strong and to throw stones and spears down at any enemies that might approach. It was a peaceful time, especially in the Royal City. No one wanted to attack a place with such a good defense.

They still put us through some strict training, though. Army life was horrible at first. We never had enough to eat. I once spent seven days having only a piece of bread each day. And on one day even that piece of bread ended up in someone else's mouth. The officers weren't above taking our food even though they had plenty of their own. They did give us enough blankets, because they didn't want anyone getting a cough, but the beds were made of rope and were terrible to sleep on.

And the Singing practice! We had hours of it every day, until our voices nearly gave out. At first we mostly Sang by ourselves, one by one, with an officer to train us. That mostly meant screaming at us and even pulling our hair if we weren't showing enough potential or we made a mistake. We Sang without focusing usually, of course, just to get the tones right, but they would also test us to see what we could really do with our voices. They wanted us in good physical shape too, so we had to go running and lift stones and such when we weren't Singing. A few of us even learned to throw spears by hand, the way they say soldiers did in ancient times. After a while we would sing together in groups to increase our power. We had to harmonize perfectly, and we were punished if we couldn't.

But a person can get used to just about anything. My voice got stronger, and so did my body. Once I became an officer I had a little free time to myself, and could go out to find what fun I could in Central City. The innkeepers had to give us whatever we wanted, though I tried not to take too much advantage of that. Some soldiers didn't have my scruples though, and they gave the army a bad name.

And I had time for a little flirtation and sometimes a little more. I wasn't beautiful but I wasn't ugly either and the uniform counted for a lot. Don't get the wrong idea, I wasn't one of those soldiers who breaks hearts, at least not on purpose, and I never made promises I wasn't going to keep. But there's no harm in a soldier having a eye for the ladies just like anyone else. I had girlfriends, gambled a bit, and drank wine when I pleased. It wasn't such a bad life, and I assure you that I wasn't such a bad person either. Even the Titan himself wasn't evil, just a bit power-hungry like all rulers. 

I know, I know, what you want to hear about is the Challenger and how he destroyed the Royal City. I'm getting there. 

There are always troublemakers who aren't happy with what they have. First we heard rumors of unrest in the provinces. They didn't want to pay high taxes or send their sons and daughters to be soldiers, and they thought the Titan was an autocrat who did what he pleased. Eventually we saw demonstrations begin even in the Royal City. Some people can't leave well enough alone. We tried to get spies into the rebel groups but that didn't always work. And yes, some rebels disappeared for good, but very seldom. The Titan had to teach a lesson here and there but he knew better than to start making martyrs of them.

We had to break up the demonstrations, because we couldn't let opposition to the Titan flourish even in the Royal City. And yes, sometimes that did mean Singing stones into the crowds. I wasn't happy about that, because the protestors were ordinary folk and not rebel leaders, but we did what we had to do.

The Challenger began to appear in public to claim his own right to Rhye. He was supposedly some cousing of the Titan and of course he said that he was the rightful heir to the thone. To get people on his side, he said he would put a stop to all the excesses and cruelty and make Rhye into a fair and just nation. Naive people inevitably believed him. Real fighting started, and things got worse and worse in the provinces, with rebel Singers taking over whole cities and even the fourth sea. 

We knew it was only a matter of time until the rebels tried to take the Royal City. We thought we were prepared. When scouts brought word of an army approaching we put some of our best Singers on duty strengthening the wall, and others, myself included, went out on the battlements. As the army got closer we began to hurl stones, and we waited for them to use their Song on the wall. We weren't even worried, because we were so good and the wall so strong. 

They got closer still, and were taking casualties, but we still didn't hear any Song or feel any damage to the wall. And then, when they were almost to the wall itself, they Sang. The entire army Sang at once, a huge sweeping song which should have been a cacophany but wasn't. And they rose up and flew. 

That doesn't sound so exciting to a young person. These days it's common to see someone fly, what with the Challenger's men always flitting about where they aren't wanted, spying on everyone. And even some ordinary folk with decent voices are learning to do it. But then, you have to understand, we had never seen it, never heard of it, never thought it was possible. Just suddenly we saw an army rise off the ground, and we were terrified. Some of us thought the gods were punishing us from their heavens.

Sometimes I still wonder.

Once they were in the air, the wall meant nothing to them. They poured into the city, their song loud and strong, hurling stones and knives. Most of the Singers were killed within the first few hours. I saved myself by leaving the battlements -- I was of no use there anyway -- and hiding in a half-destroyed tavern. There was fighting all over the city as traitors -- I know, I must call them Rebels now -- Sang against their neighbors. Plenty of civilians died, though you probably never heard that before. The Challenger's advisors write the history books and you can't believe everything in them. I stayed huddled in the tavern, hoping no one would Sing it down, and by some miracle no one did.

I'll say this much for the Challenger: Most of the few soldiers who were left were allowed to live. I spent a few months in prison, and I'm not going to say it was pleasant, but I survived. The Titan was executed, of course, but they didn't make a spectacle of it or drag his body through the streets. Once he controlled the Royal City, the Challenger easily took over the provinces and soon named himself ruler of the whole country of Rhye. And of course he's still there, for better or for worse. 

As for me, once they let me out, I decided to get as far away from the Royal City as I could. So I came out here to Seventh Sea and found this little village. It's a pleasant place where people don't pry into my past. I wonder sometimes if the older ones here had Rebel sympathies or not, during the war, but it really doesn't matter at all. 

I never thought I would fish for a living, but it keeps my wife and I fed. I met her here in this town. She was a preacher, so she never expected to marry, but of course once the Challenger had destroyed the temples all the rules about such things were gone. At least most of the preachers, like us, were spared execution. So now she weaves nets and I fish with them and we have everything we need.

Of course I must never Sing again and she must never preach. But we have fish and sunlight and companionship on a cold night, in our little house by the sea. I'm well aware that everything could have turned out much worse. We lost a lot, both of us, but we're still alive and the government leaves us alone. And now that Rhye is at peace again, or close enough to it, we don't have too many worries. As I was saying before, people just keep on going, no matter who is in charge.


End file.
